Open up your smartphone and go on Instagram or maybe even Facebook, or maybe you decide to check out vine for some funny videos. You could be checking the Weather, playing QuizUp or Candy Crush, no matter what you do on your smartphone these days you are using an application. The world is constantly evolving and one of the biggest innovations of the 21st century is the invention of apps.

There are hundreds of thousands of applications in the Apple App Store alone. Everything you can possibly think of can be done through one of these apps. From picture editing, to finding a place to eat, to checking the weather and playing games, there is an abundant list of possibilities. Apps are the wave of the future one might say, and this is exactly why Nathan Stanford, the computer science teacher at Bullis, is starting an app design program.

“There is definitely a high demand for apps both within the school and also in the world,” says Stanford. “I started looking into various applications to teach students to create their own apps.”

Image Credit to Google

After finding AppInventor, Mr. Stanford thought it would be the perfect way to start the class, seeing as the program does not require any previous coding experience. This way, students can hit the ground running with their applications instead of spending time trying to learn how to code.

The class will have a very simple program: “It will be a trimester course. The first part will be creating a simple app such as a soundboard type app, then a basic kind of game, and then they will create something with web input,” says Stanford. “Finally, they will create their own project.”

“People have been thinking about doing this,” says Stanford. “I just happen to be the person with the time and resources to do it. ”

Stanford’s class will set its students up with the knowledge they need to compete in the world of apps. This will once again be a great opportunity for students to put their business skills to the test in trying to create an app that is useful to the public.